GOP candidates aim for repeal

Within moments of House passage of the historic health care bill, Republican House and Senate challengers across the nation were quick to react and vehement in their responses—with many promising to work vigorously for repeal.

Top GOP candidates, including Steve Stivers in Ohio’s 15th District and Stephen Fincher in Tennessee’s open 8th District pronounced themselves “appalled” in their press releases.

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Former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, running against Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy in Pennsylvania’s 8th District referred to the bill as a “disaster.”

“When I am elected to Congress I will lead the fight to repeal this horrendous legislation,” added Republican Jim Barnett, who is running for the open seat in Kansas’s 1st District.

Barnett was one of many Republicans promising to work toward undoing the landmark legislation.

Florida GOP Senate candidate Marco Rubio said in a press release he wanted to “reiterate my strong support for repealing it and offering alternative reforms that will lower health care costs without growing government and breaking the bank.”

Nick Jordan, a Republican running for the open 3rd District seat in Kansas, promised “to work tirelessly to repeal this harmful legislation."

In Connecticut’s 3rd District, two Republicans seeking the GOP nod against freshmen Democratic Rep. Jim Himes—Tom Hermann and Rob Russo—also highlighted their plans to vote for repeal if elected in November.

Russo went even went a step further, promising attention to the matter right out of the gate.

“I promise the very first act I will take as a Congressman will be to repeal this TRILLION dollar, job-killing, health care damaging legislation," he said in a press release not long after the bill passed the House.

Numerous challengers used the occasion to link their Democratic opponents to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

In a press release mentioning Pelosi’s name three times, former Congressman Tim Walberg promised to hold town hall meetings in all seven counties of Michigan's 7th District in an effort to oust freshman Democratic Rep. Mark Schauer and work toward repealing the bill.

In Idaho’s 1st District, Republican Vaughn Ward hammered Rep. Walt Minnick, even though the freshman Democrat voted against the bill.

“Walter Minnick’s party has done it again. Though he voted “no” on the health care bill, he did nothing to work with Republicans to stop this unconstitutional bill from being forced on the people,” said Ward, who also pledged he’d work “tirelessly” for repeal, in a press release. “It is time to remove Walter Minnick and help pull the gavel of power from his boss, Nancy Pelosi.”

In Florida’s 22nd District, GOP challenger Allen West pointed toward what he saw as an unholy Democratic trinity.

“The liberal troika of Obama, Reid, and Pelosi has once again conspired to trample the will of Americans and strong armed Congress to pass healthcare legislation the public simply does not want,” he said in a press release. “My pledge to the people of the 22nd District is simple-once elected I will do everything in my power to repeal the repugnant portions of this monstrous piece of legislation."